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The Star/Sunday, 14 August 2016/Opinion
Public institutions of higher learning
have to find new ways to fund and keep themselves relevant.
UNIVERSITIES in the country have been
under a lot of pressure lately. Public universities, for example, have seen big
cuts in their budgets by up to 20 to 30%.
Their research funding has been
subjected to even bigger reduction of around 70%.
This has led to some layoffs of many
experienced academics including professors of established repute.
This is a huge loss to the research
agenda of the higher institutions and a major setback for the nation.
Private universities have also not
been spared.
They too face intense competition in
securing enough students to fund their operations.
Many private universities have
reported a steep decline in student numbers.
There is a serious concern for
institutions that are unable to attract enough students, and they may see
challenging times ahead.
Unless the shortage can be made up by
foreign students, many such institutions may not survive.
There is also a growing concern that
the quality of graduates has shown a decline.
They do not seem to match the needs
of industry. As a result, the number of unemployed graduates continues to rise.
There should be a serious rethink
about the operation of universities, both public and private, if they are to
survive such challenges and to truly make Malaysia the educational hub of the
region. The universities need a Blue Ocean Strategy approach.
For years, the universities have
often been criticised for being hesitant to shake off their ivory tower image.
They have not been integrating well
with the community around them and the industry.
Though attempts have been made in
recent years to address these shortcomings, the outcome is still poor.
The government has initiated a number
of schemes such as public private research network and others, but the response
has been rather lukewarm.
There is still minimal engagement
between the industry and universities, not only in pursuing the nation’s
innovation agenda, but also in making the university curriculum more in tune
with the many needs of industry.
Yet, if we listen to discussions on
the future of the global economy, many have cited the lack of industry-relevant
talent and skills as a major stumbling block to growth.
In fact, this is exactly what has been
ailing the Japanese economy.
They are short of the right talent
that industry needs. At the same time, we hear of growing public disenchantment
over the pursuit of university education in a scenario where a degree no longer
guarantees jobs.
What then, is the recipe for change?
How should universities reconfigure
their operations in the face of such challenges?
Some universities have been toying
with a number of new ideas to take themselves forward.
Whatever the ideas, a major
consideration should be how universities can effectively fund their existence.
How can they be sustainable? Because
of the rising costs of higher education, government funding in many countries
has been reduced, not just in Malaysia, but also elsewhere.
Unless taxes are raised, as in some
European Union countries where university education is free, there is no way
the government can go back to the earlier rate of subsidies.
Gone are the days of public
universities being fully subsidised. They have to find new ways to generate
revenue.
One idea which has gained a lot of
traction among university planners is to transform universities into knowledge
enterprises.
It is time universities capitalise on
their knowledge assets to deliver real value to society and industries around
them – and not just knowledge for the mere sake of more knowledge.
The blue ocean thinking is that if
the community around the universities derives value from the knowledge assets
of the universities, this will instil greater confidence in the value offered
in higher education.
Then, the appreciation of university
education will automatically increase.
Assets such as engineering knowledge
should be extended to help small and medium-sized enterprises improve their
productivity and business.
Whilst assets in medical science
should be exploited to improve the health challenges of the community, there
are many other assets which can be put to good use for society.
These can include legal knowledge,
education as well as social science expertise.
By doing so, universities will be
seen more as a higher learning enterprise.
The ultimate outcome will be an
increase in the number of people who are convinced of the value of higher
education, which in effect would mean more students.
The
writer is a professor at UCSI University’s Faculty of Engineering, Technology
& Built Environment, and a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia
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